Congressional proposals to clamp down on longshore unions in reaction to West Coast port slowdowns could backfire, warned the chief attorney for waterfront employers on the East and Gulf coasts.Donato Caruso, an attorney representing USMX employers since 1967, said that though the bargaining process often is messy, it ultimately requires the two sides to resolve their differences based on trust and mutual respect, without government interference.
“Congress should be guided by that old adage that states, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’” said Donato Caruso, counsel to United States Maritime Alliance, which represents employers in negotiations with the International Longshoremen’s Association.
“Collective bargaining in the longshore industry on the East and Gulf coasts has a proven track record. It has proven time and again that it works,” said Caruso, who has represented employers in ILA negotiations since 1967.
Caruso said regionalization of longshore unions would be a backward step. “Fragmenting international unions into a bunch of small regional labor organizations would restore the very conditions that caused unnecessary strikes in the East Coast longshore industry in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s,” he said.
Though the bargaining process often is messy, Caruso said it ultimately requires the two sides to resolve their differences based on trust and mutual respect, without government interference.
